Paper will spontaneously combust at 451 degrees Farenheit (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farenheit_451).  Water will boil and turn to steam at 212 degrees Farenheit.

Why the science facts?  I received an interesting newsletter today from Simple Truths – an online retailer specializing in inspirational books, movies and stuff.  I’m not normally a big fan of those kinds of things – actually www.despair.com is more my style, but I have been really impressed with several of the things that this site has shared on their newsletter.

I think this particular movie has been around for awhile, but it was new to me and I thought it was well done and thoughtful (or thought provoking anyway).  The clip from today’s newsletter can be found at http://www.212movie.com and as the title suggests, focuses on the extra degree of heat that takes water from being merely hot to a physical change of composition to steam. 

Sometimes it only takes one more degree to take you to the next level.

The movie focuses on internal motivation, focus, willpower, etc. as ‘going the extra mile’ to be the extra degree.  I agree that can be a critical component for a lot of people, but I also think that external components could also be your competitive edge.

Maybe it’s your educational background and the unique perspective it gives you on your marketplace (I have a client with degrees in Sociology / Urban Studies and Web Development – he has an extremely interesting way of looking at things).

Maybe it’s your family – perhaps a spouse that challenges you and brings out your best or siblings that make you look at things through rose colored glasses.

Maybe it’s your Business Coach…  (If you don’t have one I’d be glad to talk to you about it!).

Whatever it is, in today’s competitive environment, it’s important that you have something that gives you an edge, that you know what it is and that you consciously take advantage of it.

So what’s your ‘extra degree’ ?  What can take you from good to great?  I’d really like to hear some feedback on this.

Shawn Kinkade – www.aspirekc.com

I’m back from vacation.  We had a great time, but anytime you’re 24×7 with a couple of 8 year olds (our kids), it’s anything but relaxing.  We did see a lot of great scenery (Rocky Mountain National Park) and I got at least a few good pictures and the kids had fun, so all in all it was a success.

So…on to some thoughts about the difficulties of hiring.  This came to mind because I pulled together some specific ideas on how using Extended DISC assessments (Extended DISC) could be extremely beneficial to making good hiring decisions for a contact of mine that’s looking to solve a hiring problem.

This particular challenge is to build up a business almost from scratch…they currently have 6 employees, but they’re going to be ramping to 3 or 4 times that number in a fairly short period of time.  They will likely have some unique issues, but the essence of it is the importance of hiring good people.  (good for you, good for them, win-win all the way around).

The hiring concept that I’ve used successfully and seen preached by experts (the most common example is Southwest Airlines) is “Hire for Attitude, Train for Skill”.  There’s an old (but still relevant Article from Fast Company that highlights this idea:  “What people know is less important than who they are.”

That’s where Extended DISC comes in, it’s a fantastic assessment tool that clearly and concisely outlines the behaviors of prospective candidates.  The process is quick (online), inexpensive and has been proven to a high degree of accuracy across a very wide user base.

So how could you use this tool to solve a hiring dilemma? 

One idea would be to use an assessment with a model employee and use those results as a template for prospective hires.  

Another approach would be to build a customized Job Analysis using the Extended DISC tools and process which would give you a customized assessment that prioritizes the results based on your particular job needs.  This takes a little more up front work, but it’s a thought process you probably needed to go through anyway if you’re creating a new position.

Obviously these are some simplistic examples, but the beauty of the tool is all of the different things you can do with it, quickly, easily and cheaply.

How do you approach hiring?  Do you agree or disagree with hiring for attitude versus experience?  Share your thoughts and let me know what you’re thinking.

Shawn Kinkade – Aspire Business Development

Columbia-River-Gorge-1

Originally uploaded by WSK_2005

Vacation – had to get away. Sure I’m dating myself with the Go-Gos, but it is a really catchy song.

If you couldn’t tell, I’m leavin’ (on a jet plane) for Colorado for a week with the family. We’re spending a couple of days in Denver and the rest of the time in Estes Park. We’re also going to catch up with some old friends that we haven’t seen in too long, so that will be great.

Vacation for me is a time to recharge, not obsess about work, spend (hopefully) quality time with the family and get some good photo opportunities (the attached picture is from last year’s trip to Oregon – beautiful place).

I’m always amazed at people that bring their work with them. I might bring a business book to catch up on, but I’m not bringing the laptop, I’m not planning to check messages and I’m not planning to really get anything tangible done next week.

There have been a lot of studies done on the importance of taking a break. Your productivity, your creativity and your health will all take a negative hit the longer you go without getting away.

So what do you think about vacations? How many vacations do you take a year? Do you hold yourself to that every year, even when you’re swamped?

Take care and I’ll see you in a week.

Shawn Kinkade

You started your business with some kind of dream, some sort of plan. Maybe you imagined what it would look like in 3 years, 5 years or even 10 years out. (as an unrelated side note, 10 years is a really long time – think about all of the things that have changed in the last 10 years. In Kansas City 10 years ago, the Royals were really bad…okay maybe some things don’t change, but a lot of things do. The point is, anything is possible in 10 years).

So you had a vision for your business. How’s that working out for you? If you’re like a lot of people (myself included) you may have written some things down but odds are you’ve haven’t looked at it in quite a while, assuming you could even find it. That’s too bad – maybe it’s time to change that.

My advice would be to make the effort to dig it out and spend some time and energy to update it. It’s a difficult exercise, but there are a lot of good reasons why it’s well worth your time. Here are a few reasons why reviewing, updating and publishing/sharing your vision is important:

1. Does your Vision still make sense? Odds are it probably does, but if you think about how significantly the world, you and your customers have changed in the last 2 or 3 years, it’s worth considering.
2. Are you on the right path? A vision is your roadmap that lays out how your business is going to meet your needs. You could be making all kinds of movement, but is it really getting you to where you want to go?
3. Is everyone else on the same page? Initially the vision is really for your benefit. The act of getting it down on paper, refining and thinking it through it are excellent ways to crystallize and cement your thoughts. However once you’ve done the hard strategic deep thinking, one of the main reasons to have (and use) your vision is to make sure your employees, partners, vendors and customers know what you’re all about and that you’re all rowing in the same direction.
4. Are you congruent? Your vision is your foundation, your cornerstone (pick your own favorite building metaphor here…). It should be the basis for your brand, your communications, how you treat your employees, your customers. If it all ties together and everyone understands it, suddenly a lot of things become a lot easier. You have a company culture that people can instinctively pick up and predict how things should work.

Maybe it’s time to get excited about your business again. Dusting off that old vision might be just the ticket for remembering why you started down this path in the first place and help you re-energize and get focused.

So what about you – do you have an updated Vision? Have you shared it with the right people? Is it driving your marketing message?

Let me know, I’d be interested to hear from you.

Shawn Kinkade – Aspire Business Development

Unfortunately most small businesses find it very difficult to differentiate themselves in a way that’s obvious from the consumer’s point of view and they’re left to compete (primarily) on Price.

I thought about this because I saw an interesting article on Costco (nytimes.com/2005/07/17/business/yourmoney/17costco) that I found on the 37 Signals Blog (http://www.37signals.com/svn/posts/505-5-business-lessons-from-costco).

Although I’m not a customer at Costco, I did shop at their primary competition, Sam’s Club, this weekend and the first thing I think of when I think of the category is…low price.  Well that and really large jars of mayonnaise and cereal boxes that won’t fit in our car.

Both are large warehouse shopping clubs that give their customers great deals on merchandise, but as the article covers pretty clearly, Costco isn’t really differentiating themselves on price, they’re differentiating themselves on delivering what their customers want.  It’s a subtle difference, since one of the things their customers want are great prices, but it’s much larger than that.

By investing in happy employees (to the tune of a 42% payroll premium over Sam’s Club), Costco is making a serious investment that people make a difference and if you treat customers and employees right, they’ll treat you right.  The market apparently agrees since Costco is up 10% in the last 12 months compared to a 5% decline at Wal-Mart.

So how does this apply to the typical small business?  Well for starters, if you’re competing solely on price and you don’t have the scale of Wal-mart, you’re in trouble.  Actually, even if you do have the scale of Wal-mart, you might be in trouble.

Find something about you or your business that stands out, that makes you different.  Build on that difference (assuming it’s valuable to your customers).  Become the luggage maker that gives free insurance on every purchase (free_insurance_with_every_suitcase).   Or the Dentist that offers Spa treatments to patients as they wait (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,79719,00.html )

It’s not easy and it will take some creativity, but it’s certainly better than the alternative – a long slide down eroding margins…!

Maybe I should join Costco, they seem to have some pretty cool stuff.

So what about you – what could you do to differentiate?  Share your ideas about being different and if you’ve heard of some novel approaches.